is a common term/idiom that is used when people cannot make a decision one way or the other.
It’s a life choice that we must make when considering who we follow and serve and which kingdom we are a part of;
either the kingdom of darkness
or
the kingdom of light.
We cannot be in both and there is no grey,
it’s black OR white.
Making no choice is a choice in itself!
The question is, in which kingdom are we dwelling?
Many people are familiar with the sirens that sound a warning of an imminent tornado, or other life threatening situation… when we hear that sound there is no time to prepare ..it’s too late to get ready for whatever is about to happen. This is in a natural sense and everyone should have a plan for things that take us by surprise. If this is true in the natural, then how much more important is it to have an eternal plan already in place? In the natural, people can pick up the pieces and start over and make provision for being ready next time… With the things that pertain to life and godliness, there is no reset button once our days are complete according to His book.
Ps 139:16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be.
Then we are called home and we need to know for sure which direction we are headed in for eternity.
We must make that decision that choice now, today is the day of salvation.
The stark truth is there is
NO fence
to sit on.
There is one Kingdom of Heaven where our Heavenly Father and His Messiah is, and another of darkness where He is NOT.
The alarm is sounding loud and clear to get ready
choose this day and choose life,
eternal life. Deut. 30:19
There is only
THE GATE … John 10:1-9
Then we are to live with the kingdom within us, awaiting the fullness of it when we move to His realm; then the physical body will no longer support us or if we are still here at His return.
Only the Father knows when that will be and only He knows when our race is complete…if we are still here then our race is not yet finished….
We are to encourage all those around us
to be ready,
be prepared,
to…
Wake up o sleeper!
Ephesians 5:14
This is why it is said: ‘Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’
Often in the Scriptures believers are exhorted to awake. They are warned of the dangers of spiritual sleep, that such a slumber is like a coma that will result in death unless the believer awakens.
Right now each and every one of us is living/dwelling in a kingdom…. but which one?
There is NO fence…
so in which kingdom are we dwelling?
He who dwells… the first 3 words of Psalm 91:1
The world is in crisis mode and Psalm 91 is one place we can go for help.
Many conversations over the years have revealed that people feel out of place; like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole.
Our feelings, responses, beliefs, personality, core values never seem to find a perfect solution, and this feeling grows more than ever in our world today.
The words to many songs describe our position that we are just passin’ through, because this world is without doubt NOT our home. It’s true to say that if you feel comfortable in this world then you are probably dwelling in the wrong kingdom. This world and its systems belong to and have been formed by the prince of this world; the prince of the kingdom of darkness. Scripture says if we love the world the love of the Heavenly Father is not in us. And we cannot have two masters we love one and hate the other. So which one do we really love? Which one are we attached to? The fruit of our lives will reveal truth …
Our lives are a reflection of and summed up by our choices. We are indeed the sum of our choices. What we choose day by day reveals who we truly are. It doesn’t matter what we say who we are is in our choices. The place we cannot depart from is the place of our bondage and we defend the things that have been established in the flesh.
Everyone seems to spend their lives looking for somewhere to call home…
Psalm 91 is likely the home address for all believers and until we experience this psalm, we will forever searching.
We are no doubt familiar with Strong’s definitions, however here are some meanings from the Hebrew Alephbet.
As Proverbs 4:20-22 tells us,His Word is life to all who find it.
In the very first verse of Ps. 91 is a reference to the individual:
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High.
Dwells is not a word we hear everyday.
It may be used to encourage someone to stop focusing and thinking about a situation, however there is another angle revealed in the Hebrew meaning.
InStrong’s #3427, dwells is a primitive root:
yashab
Phonetic Spelling: yaw-shab’
defined as: to dwell, to sit down, to remain, to settle, to marry, make to keep [house], and to return.
Dwell, is indicated as a permanent address by most of the words used to describe it; and not like a hotel, B&B, motel or a travel trailer used on holidays and vacations.
To dwell means: to set up a permanent household, settling down where a house/home can be established, to marry and set up housekeeping.
We may not have realized that all the promises of this Psalm hang on this first phrase…why? Because dwelling is an absolute condition if we want to experience the benefits that are listed in the rest of the Psalm.
We should ask ourselves what does dwell mean to us personally? Then we should find out what does it mean to our Heavenly Father?
We can do this by looking at the Hebrew letters
in the word dwell (remember to read from right to left.)
Bet Shin Yod – yashab
Recall from previous posts that each Hebrew letter has a name, a picture, a number value, and a meaning.
We know that humans discoveries and knowledge called Science, only serves to confirm what believers already know as Truth and scientists have discovered that each letter also has a specific sound frequency when spoken out loud and is the only language known with all of these qualities.
YOD – 10 = The outcome, the completion of something.
Picture:Hand, Right Arm,
Means:Power – Right hand of God’s power, a Deed Done, to Work, to Cover, Allow, Hollow, Open Hand, also refers to His Holy Spirit as the letter always hangs in the air, overseeing.
SHIN – 300 = Victory of good over evil, Holy Spirit.
Picture: Teeth or Fire.
Means:Teeth, Fire, the Fiery zeal of God to consume all His enemies, Devour, Destroy, Something Sharp.
BET 2 = Divide or Division.
Picture: House/floorplan of tent.
Means:House/Family; God’s word, God’s dwelling place
A deeper meaning behind the worddwell is:
He who Dwells is:
Bet…
one who has made the choice to live permanently in God’s house – trusting in God and honoring His Word.
Yod…
There he will experience the activation of God’s right hand of power covering him.
Shin…
And God in His fiery zeal will consume all that tries to keep or draw him away from Dwelling.
When we choose to trust and obey Him, we live secure in His Presence.
We are His dwelling place and He is ours.
According to 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple/sanctuary of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
Colossians 2:9-10 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
He is our house—our hiding place
In the Amplified Bible 2 Corinthians 12:9 reads: But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!
He will pitch a tent over us and DWELL
covering us with Himself!
In our drive through microwave Instagram, hashtag life, dwelling is not something we do very well we have become impatient, wanting everything immediately.
We need to take time with our Heavenly Father today and ask Him to show us how we can dwell more fully in His presence because it’s not just a Sunday/Wednesday attend meeting experience, it is a lifelong process.
Those who have ever remodeled a house know it takes time and longer than a weekend to complete, How much more is it so for Him to dwell in us and for us to dwell in Him; it is a total surrender and commitment of all that we are.
Where do we dwell?
The text says: He who dwells in the Secret Place…
What did he mean by: the Secret Place?
A Secret Place is a …hidden, concealed, private, safe.
SECRET PLACE inStrong’s #5643
סֵ֣תֶר
Cether
Phonetic Spelling:say’-ther
is defined as:
a cover
secrecy
hiding place
protection
and the primitive root #5641 is defined as:
to hide (by covering)
keep close
conceal
to guard
Again reading from right to left, these are the letters that spell Secret in Hebrew:
RESH, TAV, and SAMEKH
SAMEKH 60 = Pride, Conceit, Earthly.
Picture: A Tree propped up by a piece of wood.
Meaning:To Lean Upon, a Prop or Aid, Hold, Assist or Support – the heart of God.
TAV 400 = the Outcome of Trial and Testing.
Picture:A Rough Cross.
Meaning:Cross, Covenant, Seal, Mark, a Sign, Ownership, Finished or Complete.
RESH 200 = Insufficiency, Poverty.
Picture: Head
Meaning: Head, Chief, Beginning, Highest, Most Important, a Person, Human Reasoning vs. Obedience.
When we allow human reasoning, sometimes referred to as common sense, to be our head or master, Spiritual poverty inevitably follows.
The Hebrew Sages see the circular form of the samekh as: the heart of God, which upholds and supports us, in the same way as a circle has no beginning or end, neither does our Heavenly Father. His love is from everlasting to everlasting, we can lean on His faithful love and support and as we do, we will be surrounded, supported, and kept in perfect peace/shalom in the heart of God.
Isaiah 26:3 says,
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
The meaning of this word through Hebrew eyes when putting this understanding together with the other letters is:
The Secret Place is: living in the midst of our Heavenly Father’s heart, trusting fully in His Word that covers us with His covenant promises of protection, because He loves us and He is head over all.
In Psalm 32:7 David wrote:
You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.
Selah
And in Psalm 31:19-20
Oh, how great is Your goodness,
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who trust in You
In the presence of the sons of men!
20 You shall hide them in the Secret Place of Your presence
From the plots of man;
You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion
From the strife of tongues.
The words
hiding place and the secret place
come from the same root word.
To dwell in the Secret Place is:
to live in the midst of our Heavenly Father’s heart /Samekh, trusting fully in His Covenant /Tav Word
and trusting that He is Head/ Resh over all.
His covenant covers us with promises of protection, because He loves us.
David wrote:
One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
5 For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock. Psalm 27:4-5
Oh, how great is Your goodness,
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who trust in You
In the presence of the sons of men!
You shall hide them in the Secret Place of Your presence
From the plots of man;
You shall keep themsecretly in a pavilion
From the strife of tongues. Psalm 31:19-20
Our Heavenly Father will keep us in the
secret place,
away from the strife of tongues.
These days everywhere we turn there is a contention/strife stirred up by things that are spoken surely we need a secret place right now?
The secret place
is a place of quiet, inside our souls, a place to rest in Him completely.
A secret place
is not just a stopping place or a place to run to in times of chaos and danger,
but a place to live, to abide, to dwell.
The secret place is IN Him, where we are to live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28
Outside of this place is chaos, confusion, fear and dread. which is the opposite of shalom/peace.
The secret place is the place to be, whether we are running from the enemy or not; and we can live there ALL of the time It’s a personal choice to remain in Him.
By putting the two phrases together we see that: He who Dwells – is one who has made the choice to live permanently in our Heavenly Father’s house; trusting in Him and honoring His Word. There the individual will experience the reality of our Heavenly Father’s right hand of power covering them; and in His fiery zeal He will consume all that tries to keep or draw the individual away from dwelling.
So once more to recap.:
To dwell in the secret place is to
live in the midst of God’s heart, trusting fully in His Covenant Word and trusting that He is Head over all.
His covenant covers us with promises of protection because He loves us.
If we haven’t found the secret place yet, we must spend time asking His Holy Spirit to help us and by reading this psalm and other psalms, we can feed on the attributes of our Heavenly Father. The more we know Him, the more we will dwell in the secret place.
There are countless messages and many teachings on the power of our words and how what we sow in words, we reap physically, emotionally and spiritually.
It is critical to remember that what we say about our Heavenly Father is of utmost importance.
His word tells us that out of the abundance of our hearts our mouths speak, so, what we believe about our Heavenly Father is heard when we speak and it sets a course for our faith.
In Psalm 91:2David writes: I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust. What David believed, out of the abundance of his heart, he said.
Proverbs 18:21says that, Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. David was living in the secret place and wanted others to enter in and enjoy the benefits.
He is declaring what he discovered about the Lord when he says, I will SAY of the Lord…
The wordSAYin this verse is one of those familiar words:
I will say
is Strong’s #559.
omar
אֹמַ֗ר
Phonetic Spelling:aw-mar’
And it means:
to utter, to say, answer, consider, declare, publish, report, think.
What we say is what we get because there is power in our words, they are containers of life or death. Just as pebbles drop into water releasing ripples, our words release blessings or curses, freedom or bondage.
Why is it so important about saying or confessing something, isn’t it possible to just believe it inside without saying anything?
The Hebrew text points out that, in addition to vocalizing, the word say,refers to internal speech. 2 Samuel 13:32; Esther 6:6. and it also refers to what is being conveyed by a person’s actions along with their words.
Exodus 2:14; 2 Chronicles 28:13.
The Hebrew letters for the word
say are:
אֹמַ֗ר
aleph/alef mem resh.
אֹ
ALEPH/ALEF 1 = God – Echad –
Unity, Unique – no other like it.
Picture: Ox head
Meaning: Strength or Leader, Most Important, First – The Strength and Power of the leader.
מַ֗
MEM 40 = Trial, Testing, Tribulation.
Picture: Water
Meaning: Womb, Water from the womb, Cleansing water, flowing water that brings life, Mighty, Massive Chaos, Humility, taking the low place, hidden relationship with God, Cleansing water, flowing water that brings life.
Resh 200 = Insufficiency, Poverty.
Picture: Head
Meaning: Head, Chief, Beginning, Highest, Most Important, a Person, Human Reasoning vs. Obedience. When we allow human reasoning/common sense, to be our master, our head, poverty of the Spirit results.
What we SAY, releases Aleph – God’s strength and power. In humility we are declaring our Mem- hidden relationship with Him. It transforms the circumstances of our testing, based on what we declare. What we say, reveals who, or what we believe to be the most important and worthy of our obedience – Resh.
In the secret place David discovered that Our Heavenly Father is Who He says He is, and by declaring Who He is, David consistently put himself in a position of trust. He kept his focus on the Lord God and he was not shaken by the circumstances around him, but instead he was rested, protected by Him, being free of stress and worry.
I will say of the LORD…
Our Heavenly Father wants to establish us in the secret place of His presence. He wants us to settle down and confidently trust in Him. Our focus and the choice of our words, what wesay, can enable or disable our ability to dwell.
When we are praying with other people and the prayers are focused on needs and people are crying out to our Heavenly Father for help, let’s ask Him to reveal Who He is in the midst of this circumstance; and begin saying/declaring those things in spoken prayer.
We could say for example:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You are our help and that nothing is impossible with You. Thank You that Your name is above every name and You are Lord/Adonai over everything and every circumstance. You are our provider and all that we need is found in You. Thank You that when we ask according to Your will, You hear us and answer us. Father, intervene in this situation by bring about Your will and plan and purpose. You triumphed over the enemy at the calvary and You are exalted above all principalities and powers. Come now and show Yourself strong on our behalf because we place our trust in You in the wonderful Name of our Messiah Jesus Christ, Yeshua haMashiach.
These words redirect the focus of the prayer meeting from the problems to being centered on our Heavenly Father. Answers of salvation and deliverance will be released, not only for the specific situation being lifted up in prayer, but also for those seeking help, as It will build our faith and trust in Who He is.
Who do weSaythe LORD God is? What is the declaration coming from the abundance of our hearts? Is He truly on the throne of our lives and hearts? Is He known to us as our Heavenly Father, or is He still some far off untouchable, unreachable religious deity?
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide…”
Psalm 91:1
Abide is not really a common word we use today unless we are studying the Bible.
In John 15:4
Jesus/Yeshua gave a clear message:
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
The word abide here seems to indicate an invitation to stay. In Psalm 91:
ABIDE is
Strong’s #3885 and it is a primitive root.
In Hebrew,ABIDE is:
לוּן
luwn –
pronounced: loon;
or liyn –
pronounced: leen/luwn Phonetic Spelling:(loon)
ABIDE is defined as:
to stop (usually over night), to stay permanently, lie all night, (cause to) lodge (all night, in, -ing, this night), remain, or tarry.
The individual letters reveal more…
ל
LAMED
Numerical value: 30
Number 30 = Blood of Messiah, Dedication to a task.
Picture:Staff,Goad or Stick,
Meaning:to Teach or Instruct, Authority, to Control, Urge Forward, a Tongue
וּ
VAV
Numerical value: 6
Number 6 = Man.
Picture:Nail or Hook,
Meaning:to Secure, Pin together, Connect -Yeshua
FINAL NUN
Numerical value: 700
Number 700 = Restoration, Holy Spirit, Jubilee.
Meaning: Life or Action
The meaning of
To ABIDE is:
to permanently stay under God’s instruction and Authority, moving forward as He direct and when we do, our Father connects us with heaven, and manifests His life in and through us on earth.
Recall that He who dwells, is:
one who moves in permanently – trusting in God and obeying Him.
When he does, he will experience the activation of the Father’s hand of power, His Holy Spirit, consuming with His fire all that destroys or tries to invade, or keep us from His house.
ToABIDEpromises even more,by promising that He will teach us how to overcome our enemies by His power, and to keep them from invading our lives.
Build faith by readingJohn 15:4-6 again:
Abide in Me, and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine,
neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit;
for without Me you can do nothing.
If anyone does not abide in Me,
he is cast out as a branch and is withered;
and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
To abide, like the word dwell, means: we have to stay put in order to receive the full impact of the secret place.
Instead of going from conference to conference and from teaching to teaching in search of spiritual refreshment; we can settle down in the secret place, spend time with Him and allow Him to uncap the well of living water that will never dry up.
All that is needed is for us to make Him our priority and put time with Him first place in our day because to remain fruitful, we must abide, stay close to the source of that living water.
In John 15:7 Jesus promised that, if you abide in Me and My Words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done for you.
He will answer in accordance with His will and His plan for us, because He knows what we need better than we do. During times of trial and the testing of our faith, the thing we most often need is to know is that He is with us, and that His perspective on our situation is the best for us. Instead of complaining and questioning why things are happening to us, we should ask how can we cooperate with You Father, for Your Will to be established in this situation?
The answer may come quickly, however it’s more likely to unfold as a step by step process as we continue to wait, are willing to listen, and obedient to apply His counsel and instructions.
In a world where the media can be overwhelming with reports of danger and cause fear, we can choose to listen and allow worry and panic to rule us, or we can go to the secret place of the Most High and learn to abide, trusting in His direction where we can dwell, abiding in peace/shalom. The choice is ours and Psalm 131:2 is another beautiful picture of this abiding: Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Our souls include our minds, our will and our emotions…and in Hebrew thought, our bodies are also included so in abiding/dwelling, we will find complete peace/shalom.
When we choose to move into and remain in the secret place of the Most High, we become acquainted with the One Who is the source of every breath we breathe.
It won’t take us long to find out that only IN HIM do we live and move and have our being. If we are outside of Him and have not completely surrendered to Him, we are simply functioning on our own power, which is not going to have a happy ending.
The alarm is sounding and we all need to move in now and while there is still time, get to know the One who loves us more than His very life. In Him we have the source of all power, because all that is good is Him living in us.
Seek the lord while He may be found
and make certain the kingdom
in which you are dwelling is His…
because
…there is NO fence
only THE GATE!
Shalom, shalom mishpachah/family
and cheverim/friends!
It’s all about Life and Relationship,
NOT Religion.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
NOT SURE?
YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells us three areas where we can know God’s will: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
So God’s will for all His people in every circumstance is:
to rejoice, to pray and to give thanks.
Thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father should be on our lips morning, noon, night and every moment in between!
These are reminders of the attitude of mind we should have; and because David knew humans, he said /pleaded in Ps. 123:3, Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
And Malachi 2:16 warns us
Therefore, do not deal treacherously. KJV.
So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously. Amplified Bible.
They had to be faithful to their covenant obligations. Faithful to their covenant with God. And faithful to their covenant with their spouses…..and so do we…todah
Why are these warnings important?
Because our state of mind, our thoughts and our focus are powerful in their effects. Surely these are specific attitudes, (dealing treacherously), thatwe should never consider giving into?
As the enemy of our souls penetrates right into our thoughts, distracting our mind from God and our faith in Him; then our faith is of no value because it is in human ingenuity and in the flesh, which if we are not careful will rule our lives.
Having a heart, mind, soul and spirit that is centered, keeps us focused on Him as our source; and produces a thankful heart, a grateful attitude and an unselfish manner. The ‘holiday season’ has become such a huge commercialized time, obscuring for many the real reason it is even on the calendar. Mostly a western hemisphere event and Thanksgiving Day purely one for the USA, followed 1 month later by the Christians day to celebrate Jesus birthday. Many observe this day, although we are not told to do so in scripture, nor are we given a specific date. Truly, our lives should be a daily celebration that Messiah came; and surely that is the most important fact! However, He did tell us to remember Him….
Do this in Remembrance of Me
Luke 22:19 says:
And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
This is how we are to remember and celebrate Messiah, every time we eat bread and drink wine/juice to commemorate His death and resurrection and the reason for it.
The provision at the cross is most importantly the spiritual aspect; and to eat the broken bread and drink the poured out wine.. isn’t this the real celebration, not what human society, culture and traditions over 2000+ years have turned it into?
We must be mindful of what our attitudes, motives and actions are really doing. Mark 4:19 warns us to beware of the thorns which are the cares of this world.
And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
Amplified Bible but the worries and cares of the world [the distractions of this age with its worldly pleasures], and the deceitfulness [and the false security or glamour] of wealth [or fame], and the passionate desires for all the other things creep in and choke out the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
These cares cause and produce wrong attitudes in our soul because there is enormous power in simple things, like our choices, that distract our attention away from God.
We must refuse to be overwhelmed by the cares of this world or the pressure from friends, peer groups, families and children. In the west particularly, is an over abundance of material commodities purveyed through advertising. This only increases desire, lust, covetousness, demand, expectation and entitlement; causing greed, being dissatisfied, picky, choosy with ungrateful, selfish reactions. We toss what we don’t like, caught up in the worlds’ commercial agendas to separate us from the income that we worked so hard for.
Whose world system of commerce is it?
Certainly not that of our Savior or Heavenly Father. This is that which Messiah refused to accept when offered, so why are we allowing ourselves to be absorbed into that very scenario which is nothing more than a snare?
We should give and receive all year as led by His Spirit.
What happened to the days we were content with little?
The days after WW2 produced humble, grateful hearts, who were thankful for warmth and a small meal; and a piece of fruit and some wool socks. What has happened to society?
This is only one generation ago and with WW3 looming we would do well to remember that…
It’s not the gift,
it’s not the meal,
it’s not the value, size, or great bargain,
it’s not the piles of presents or mountains of food that are so often wasted or spurned because we don’t like it or its’ taste or color.
This is not, nor should it be our focus….
these are the Mark 4 cares of this world.
The worries of the world, the deceitfulness of glamour, of wealth, and all the other kinds of desires, push in and choke the message so that it produces nothing.
What are our holiday celebrations producing both in our lives and in the lives of those around us?
Let’s be truly mindful this year of the real reason for the season; and not be engulfed in the stressful, crazy days that steal our focus from giving thanks for all we have; and to remember the One to Whom we are indebted and spend shopping time with Him instead.
If you are still reading this post, then let’s read
together
Ps. 103 and Phil 4:8
we are to think on these things.
Let these things, be our list of things to shop for!
It’s an old hymn but full of truth!
When we are counting our blessings, and we should daily;
then we are not counting fears,
our lack or
our problems.
We are not complaining or miserable because of what we don’t have, or think we should have because we feel we are entitled, or because everyone else does.
All these things are added to us only as our Heavenly Father knows we NEED them.
He is far more concerned with the health and well being of our spirits, souls and within context, the basic needs of our bodies; not in luxury or to excess and over indulgence.
This world and its’ man-made traditions, are so temporary, so transient, so non essential to life and so very non-eternal.
The Messianic Hebrews/Jews to whom most of the New Testament was written and recorded for people like us did not celebrate Christmas and still dont! Jesus/Yeshua was Jewish the Bible is a Jewish book written almost entirely in Hebrew and Aramaic with some Greek.
The origins of the western worlds Christmas, date all the way back to 336 AD. This holiday was created by Europeans who lit up the dark days of winter. The roots of the Christmas traditions that we recognize today can be traced back to pre-Christian celebrations of the Winter solstice. By the mid-fifth century, the Feast of the Nativity had become popular.
The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back to a monk named St. Nicholas who was born in Turkey around 280 A.D.. St. Nicholas gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick, becoming known as the protector of children and sailors.
St. Nicholas first entered American popular culture in the late 18th century in New York, when Dutch families gathered to honor the anniversary of the death of “Sint Nikolaas” (Dutch for Saint Nicholas), or “Sinter Klaas” for short. “Santa Claus” draws his name from this abbreviation.
Research it for yourselves, the truth will make you free from cultural customs and the traditions of men. It’s good to know what we are celebrating and why, and if there exists any compromise in our lives, for the sake of traditions and/or personal choice.
Let’s give some time to prayerfully remember those who have lost homes and families to natural disasters, to those killed or maimed in ongoing conflicts and wars; and to the children who have lost parents or are in abusive situations, and those now homeless. The last thought on their minds is if the turkey is properly cooked, or how many of the gifts on their list they will get.
As the end of days draws ever closer is Jesus/Messiah even a guest, let alone the honored guest at our tables? And the greater question is, if and when we invite Him, would He even want to attend? Isn’t it more likely He would be eating with the tax collectors and sinners, feeding the hungry and healing the sick; comforting the lonely while sharing the good news of the gospel of the kingdom??
Isn’t this the real reason He came and died a sinners death for us? He didn’t come so we could have fun in our freedom… He came to set us free to serve Him. The abundant life is in the spiritual values not in the flesh life, which we are to crucify daily. Gal 5:24
Crucify the flesh …describes a deliberate putting to death of the old sin nature. Paul’s instruction was inspired by Messiah Himself, who said,If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. Mark 8:34.
The concept of crucifying the flesh comes from the words in Galatians 5:24: Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
In this verse, it’s clear that crucifying the flesh is
not something done to the believer,
but by the believer:
Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh.
The flesh and the spirit are in continual conflict with each other, so our daily calling as followers of Christ is to crucify the flesh:For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13;Romans 6:11).
Because we have been delivered
from sin and death to
new life in Yeshua HaMashiach/Jesus Christ,
we are to yield ourselves to God for His good purposes and put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5.
To crucify the flesh is to obey the call to discipleship.
It means losing our life to find it in Him…
Matthew 10:39. As we daily put to death the sinful nature, we begin to walk in victory over the flesh. Conquering the flesh is what Paul describes as walking in the Spirit:
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16.
The flesh life that must be crucified is the sin principle that exists in our fallen human nature.
In this world we live in fleshly bodies, and the body, being weakMark 14:38, is the gateway to sin. Our bodies, though not sinful in themselves, naturally crave comfort and pleasure, and they too often succumb to temptation, producing the works of the flesh Galatians 5:19–21.
Sin entrenches itself in the flesh, which becomes dominated by iniquity of all kinds. It is the sinful passions and wayward deeds of the flesh that we must crucify.
Above some things we can do to overcome our flesh.
We are not to live for the world and all it offers.
We are not to live for ourselves nor even our families, children, grandchildren, our friends or our church; we are to walk and live after the spirit and our desires are to be for our Savior and our Heavenly Father.
He will come in an hour no one expects…
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Just as the parable says, if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have not have let his house be broken into.
Todah
Taw daleth hei
is the word used for thanksgiving – in modern Hebrew it’s simply used for thank you. It comes form the root word YUDAH which in English we know as JUDAH.Judah means
a heartfelt thanksgiving or praise
The word todah is spelled
taw daleth hei
The taw represents heartfelt praise and thanksgiving
The daleth represents a doorway and
The hei represents the presence of God.
So heartfelt praise and thanksgiving
is a doorway to the presence of God.
Again Ps. 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful to him, and bless his name.
In Rev. 3:20 Messiah speaks to the Laodicean Messianic assembly who He says were neither hot nor cold. He stands at the door (dalet) and knocks reminding them of Todah.
The heartfelt thanksgiving that opens the door to His presence.
Many say this church in Revelation is how we are today?!.
Togarmah. From yadah; properly, an extension of the hand, i.e. (by implication) avowal, or (usually) adoration; specifically, a choir of worshippers — confession, (sacrifice of) praise, thanks (-giving,
Abounding with thanksgiving/todah.
One of the most important purposes of a todah meal was to remember the saving deeds of the Lord. Indeed this is one of the functions of the todah psalms: to recount the mighty deeds of God.Ps. 22:28.
The todah was one of the most significant sacrifices of the Jews.
An old rabbinic teaching says: In the coming Messianic age all sacrifices will cease, but the thanksgiving offering [todah] will never cease.
What is it about this sacrifice that makes it stand alone in such a way that it would outlast all other sacrifices after the redemption of the Messiah?
A todah sacrifice would be offered by someone whose life had been delivered from great peril, such as disease or the sword. The redeemed person would show his gratitude to God by gathering his closest friends and family for a todah sacrificial meal.
The lamb would be sacrificed in the Temple and the bread for the meal would be consecrated the moment the lamb was sacrificed.
The bread and meat, along with wine, would constitute the elements of the sacred todah meal, which would be accompanied by prayers and songs of thanksgiving, such as Psalm 116.
Here, the word thanksgiving stands alone and separate from praise. Isn’t thanksgiving included in praise? Why does the writer separate thanksgiving from praise? Isn’t thanksgiving an integral part of our worship and offering of praise? So why is thanksgiving singled out?
As already noted the word for Thanksgiving, it is the word ha-todah from the root word yudah.
It is very closely related to yada’ which means: an intimacy.
It is thanksgiving that leads us to intimacy with God.
If you remove the article – (the/ha) – it leaves todah,
the first letter T – Taw which is also the letter for truth.
Messiah said that He is the Truth.
And as previously noted, the Daleth means a doorway right next to the Hei which is the presence of God.
So we could say:
our thanksgiving to Jesus/Yeshua for His sacrifice on the cross, leads us to a doorway or portal to the presence of God and intimacy with Him.
THANKSGIVING – TODAH – תדהTaw Daleth Hei
TODAyH and every day!
Let’s be certain we are
ALWAYS READY
in our hearts and with
thanksgiving
on our lips at all times.
Shalom shalom mishpachah/family
and cheverim/friends!
It’s all about Life and Relationship,
NOT Religion.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
NOT SURE?
YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.
Psalm 24:3-5 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He that hath clean hands, and
A PURE HEART;
who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
This is Messiah Who, because of what He has done we can ascend to the hill/presence of the Lord! So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.
This phrase
a pure heart
lev tahor
is used in many scriptures.
‘anda pure וּֽבַר־ (ū·ḇar-) Conjunctive: waw – vav
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. clean, fair, pureness. Or tahor {taw-hore’}; from taher; pure (in a physical, chemical, ceremonial or moral sense) — clean, fair, pure (-ness). see HEBREW taher.
Inflection of טָהוֹר Adjective – katol pattern Root: ט – ה – ר The middle radical of this word is guttural; this affects the adjacent vowels. Meaning pure, clean (figurative); pure, unalloyed
The Hebrew word Tahor (Tet-Hey-Resh), which is reference number 2889. It is an adjective and is from the verb Taher 2891.
taher: to be clean or pure Original Word: טָהֵר Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: taher Phonetic Spelling: (taw-hare’) Definition: to be clean or pure
May 19, 2021 · A clean vessel is bikeli tahor in the Hebrew which spoke of a very common vessel in oriental culture as it is today. A potter often made vessels which were referred to as vessels fo
and yet, if it were possible to have a pure heart,
then it would not be something David
both desired and asked for in
Psalms 51:10.
Create in me a clean heart and who can ascend the hill of the Lord; and in Psalm 24:3-5. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
This is Messiah, Who because of what He has done, we can ascend to the hill/presence of the Lord! So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.
Create a clean/pure heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels.
David asks directly for
a pure/clean heart and a renewed/steadfast spirit:
Create in me a PURE heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
This verse invites
a radical renewal
from our Heavenly Father.
His request – create in me a PURE/clean heart;
is it simply another way of asking for
forgiveness and spiritual cleansing?
What does ‘Create in me a PURE/clean heart’ mean?
When David prayed Create in me a PURE/clean heart, he used the same Hebrew verb that is used in Genesis 1:1 for the creation of the world; a cosmic cleansing before starting anew from scratch. This type of cleansing is enormous and all encompassing.
Jesus/Yeshua said:
The PURE in heart will see God…
so it must be possible…
but only through Him.
In Psalms 73:1: A Psalm of Asaph.
Truly God [is] good to Israel,
[even] to such as are of a pure/clean heart.
Israel and his descendants are His children of promise, to which, if not born naturally to the covenant chosen; are the gentile believers grafted-in by grace. This is only through being born again from above by His spirit and washed in the Blood of Messiah Jesus. So the promise applies to those as well.
God is Good to those with a pure heart and who doesn’t want the goodness of God?Yet to receive that goodness we apparently need a pure heart.
We know from scripture that clearly we cannot make our hearts pure by our own efforts. The good news of the gospel of the kingdom is that Jesus Messiah, died on Calvary’s cross;
He alone bore ALL our sins,
removed them,
nailing them to the tree and
thus leaving us with
a pure heart.
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; Col 2:14 KJV
Colossians 2:14 New King James Version 14 having wiped out the [a]handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way,
So our question, how do we get one, is answered in that Jesus/Yeshua gives us
a PURE heart
and it comes by
putting our faith and trust in Him.
An interesting thought here is, at the cross He took away not only all our past sins but those He knew we would commit against Him today and in all our future days! It’s is such an overwhelming miracle of His grace and merciful forgiveness, that even before we do wrong, He has made provision for the truly repentant heart. This should not however be a license for us to just do as we please, but rather, to look soberly at our lifestyles and keep our walk very close to Him on the narrow way.
The questions we should ask are,
what do we do when we receive that clean/pure heart?
And..
what are the characteristics of a clean/pure heart?
As we have seen previously in the Hebrew language, there is often a play on words which is used to give a wider picture and offer deeper understanding for us. In Ps. 73:1 the word
which in Hebrew language and sentence construction is a preposition.
The lamed or L stands for:
TO UNTO or FOR.
In its’ root form, the word
PURE is BARAR
and can be seen in the scripture verse as
labara.
The word has the picture of:
cleansing and rejuvenating;
so in translating this verse it would read:
God is good to the pure heart.
or
He is in harmony with a pure heart,
rather than reading as: those who are pure in heart!
Why is this important?
Well, do we want to know truth, or do we want to settle for what we think we know or have been taught; which is often our comfort zone? (Re-read the parable of the old wine and old wineskins).Isn’t it important to know what our Heavenly Father means? For the writer it is very much so, none of us wants one day to discover we have been believing something that is not correct; because only the truth will make us free, not what we choose to think or believe, simply because it fits our paradigm.
The idea or picture the Hebrew language describes and creates for us is that:
Our Heavenly Father relates to our hearts – not our bodies and minds but our hearts. Yeshua/Jesus came to save and redeem our spirits, NOT our flesh bodies.
Yet Jeremiah 17:9 tells us the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it I the Lord search the heart verse 10 I try the reins even to give every man according to his doings.
Our minds and souls can be responsible for some impure and unclean things /doings and the fruit can be very ungodly. An example is debate, or debating an issue. This is something we think is ok and yet when 2 people so called debate, they are really arguing from their minds and souls, thinking they are discussing from a pure heart. Yet really they are each trying to prove their position correct over the other person and it becomes competition and they are not really serving God. They are simply trying to exert their control over the conversation, seeking advantage to be right.
This can lead to a divided heart with divided interests and we are to love God with our whole heart, not a divided one. Let us live by His truth with our whole heart. Ps 86:11 12
Debate opens up a door to a spirit of competition and a competitive spirit often leads to jealousy and offense. To remove a spirit of offense means removing the competition.
There are no scriptures telling us to debate or argue. In fact Gal. 5:19 lists the works of the flesh and we should be Gal. 5:22-26 instead.
Only God can give a pure heart.
Do the words for pure heart in Jer. 17:9, tell us that having a pure heart could clean up our minds and souls? This seems to be confirmed in Prov. 3:5-6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding (mind) and in all your ways (body or physical actions) acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. When we deny our flesh life, our old carnal nature, subduing and crucifying the flesh, our mind and body; and put our heart and spirit-man first, we will, with His help, be walking in the way/life of righteousness.
What is our Heavenly Father doing when He gives us a pure heart?
Pure heart in Hebrew is Barar levav.
We noted that barar
in its’ root form,
means:
to cleanse or rejuvenate
so when we willingly open up our hearts to Messiah,
He cleanses our hearts and rejuvenates them.
However, that is not all that is accomplished because Hebrew Rabbis teach that the word barah
is related to the word
bara without the h.
Barah with the letter h at the end means;
to be bright.
This is a connection to Jesus/Yeshua’s words in Matt. 5:16. It shows when He enters and fills our hearts, He cleanses it rejuvenates it, so that He is in harmony with our hearts. Then His light shines out from our hearts, which aligns with His command: to let our light shine before men.
When we debate /argue/ compete with other believers, trying to be right, it’s not letting our light shine forth to others. But is rather letting our own minds and intellect shine and it rarely if ever impresses unbelievers or believers for that matter.
Another word mentioned earlier, which is related to
barar is bara
which we are familiar with from Genesis 1.
Bara the word for
creating something new.
The very thing David prayed for in Ps 51:10
create in me a pure heart and reNEW…
When Messiah gives us a
pure heart He is creating in us a new heart.
One final point of interest is the word
barar in a Niphal form.
Niphal is a verbal form which expresses a simple passive voice. Example – He was destroyed.
Recent understanding of Hebrew grammar suggest that the Niphal is also reflexive.
As in my voice was heard by me.
Apparently this word
barar
comes from the old Akkadian word
Nibiru which means in Akkadian
a crossing.
As in crossing a river or a crossing over.
The flood of Noahs’ day is now a fact according to the scientific community and some of the scientists now believe the flood was as a result of the earths close encounter with either a huge asteroid, or a planetary body – that nibiru /crossed over, or by the earth, so close that it was the cause of the catastrophic flood.
Readers may note there are many articles and youtube internet sites referencing nibiru in recent months. We know by faith in His Word, that the flood was God cleansing and rejuvenating the earth from all the sin, ungodliness and violence; and it’s a clear example of what He does when He cleanses our hearts from all the sin and uncleanness.
He washes it all away and what remains is a pure heart.
Prov. 22:11. He that loveth
pureness of heart
for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.
Messiah also said He calls us friends
John 1:35-51, John 15:15.
and there is also a reference in His own words in
Matt. 24:36.. as it was in the days of Noah.
Many believe that there is a recurring cycle of celestial bodies moving, that will result in another nibiru/crossing known in some circles as the planet of the crossing. Whether you believe this or not is not as important as preparing our hearts before a Holy God and maintaining a lifestyle and walk that is pleasing to Him. One which shows forth His light, His brightness, and the fruit of a pure heart created by His indwelling Spirit of Holiness.
Today is the day of salvation… it’s time to make absolutely sure we are in a right relationship with our Heavenly Father.
We are only promised today and with David, our desire should always be,
create in me a pure heart oh Lord!
A PURE HEART – LEV TAHOR – לב טהור
A brief look at the letters of the ancient
Hebrew pictographs, adds further fullness
contained in the words..
Lev Tahor
Tahor is spelledTet Hey Vav Reysh.
Ancient Hebrew – Read right to left.
Modern Hebrew
TET
Tet is the picture of
a coiled snake
and means:
to surround or to encircle.
HEY
Hey is the picture of
the man with his hands lifted up to the heavens
and means:
to behold
and
can be a picture of
the One Who Reveals/His Spirit of Holiness
VAV
Vav is the picture of
the wooden hook or the iron nail
and means:
to add, or secure, or
join two things together that are separated from one another.
REYSH
Reysh is the picture of
the head
and means:
the leader, the highest, or the prince.
These pictographs give a picture of how we become pure/clean according to Our Heavenly Father.
David was asking for:
his heart to be surrounded by the Spirit of Holiness that is connected to the prince.
The numerical value of each of the 4 letters in TAHOR reveals further information about the prince.
The numerical value of Tet is9
and the number 9 refers to
the conclusion of a matter, the summation of man’s works, and can refer to the fruit of the spirit.
The numerical value of Hey is 5
and stands for:
grace or favor with God.
The numerical value ofVav is6
and it describes:
man and his enmity with God.
The numerical value of
Reyshis200
and
contrasts the insufficiency of man
with the sufficiency of God.
David has not yet met
this prince Who is to come but He will be
the One Who will be sufficient or able to overcome the enmity that David has with God and make him pure/clean.
He will accomplish this through God’s Grace and will bring an end to Davids situation and produce the fruit of God’s Spirit in his life.
We know this Prince/Sar as Yeshua Ha-Mashiach, Jesus the Christ, Who will bring victory that we so earnestly desire in our hearts
The 3 letters in the word for heart /Lev
reveal what is hidden there.
Lev is spelled
Lamed Beyt.
Ancient Hebrew
Modern Hebrew
LAMED
Lamed
is the picture of:
the shepherd’s staff
and describes:
control, authority, or the voice of authority.
BEYT
Beyt
is the picture of
the floor plan of the tent
and can mean:
the house, the family, the physical tent or body,
and is
the first letter in the Torah that identifies the Son of God.
Here is a picture for us to understand the heart/lev/leb
The heart/lev/leb was:
the leader or the one in control of the physical body, the tent in which David was dwelling.
The cause of David’s problem was that his heart was full of things which were leading him in a direction he didn’t want to go any more.
The numerical value of these two letters seem to complete the mystery of David’s heart.
The numerical value of
Lamedis 30
and stands for:
a blood sacrifice.
The numerical value of
Beyt is2
and refers to:
God the Son.
Surely this is what Our Heavenly Father wants in David’s heart. The leader in his heart needs to be the Son of God, Who by His blood sacrifice can set David free from his old nature.
Hebrews 10:22 echoes this mystery too.
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
David turned to the place that is the only solution for our wicked human hearts.
Jesus our Prince, Yeshua Ha-Mashiach, will with His own blood wash our hearts pure/clean. His Spirit of Holiness will reveal and lead us in ways pleasing to our Heavenly Father. With a Lev Tahor, we will no longer suffer from an evil conscience but will be able to draw near with full assurance of our faith in Him.
Today is the day of salvation… it’s time to make absolutely sure we are in a right relationship with our Heavenly Father. We are only promised today and with David, our desire should always be,
create in me a pure heart oh Lord.
Shalom shalom mishpachah/family
and cheverim/friends!
It’s all about Life and Relationship,
NOT Religion.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
NOT SURE?
YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.
as part of a morning, afternoon or evening greeting,
in Hebrew:
Boker tov = בּוֹקֶר טוֹב. = Good morning
Erev tov = ערב טוב = Good evening
Layla tov = לילה טוב = Good night
or even as an exclamation:
‘good heavens’ or ‘goodness me!’
We may also be familiar with the term:
mazel tov – מזל טוב,
An Israeli expression of:
congratulations and best wishes.
There are numerous references to where the word
good
is used and it depends on which translation of the Bible we read.
The KJV has the word good appearing about 809 times. In Romans Paul used the expression good news 12 times.
Another familiar scripture isPs. 133:1:
Behold how good and how pleasing
Hinneh mah tovumah na’im: הִנֵּה מַה טוֹב וּמַה נָּעִים:
For brothers (people) to dwell/sit together in unity.
But what does good mean when it is used according to scripture?
The word for good in Hebrew is tob or tov
Strong’s Hebrew: 2895. טוֹב (tob) –
to be pleasing or good
טוב good tov/tob, ṭôb, tobe.
Recall that in Hebrew either b and v can be used in a word as they are the same letter, and it can be spelled either with or without a
vav – טוֹב orטב
From Strongs H2895; good (as an adjective) in the widest sense; used likewise as a noun, both in the masculine and the feminine, the singular and the plural (good, a good or good thing, a good man or woman; the good, goods or good things, good men or women), also as an adverb (well): – beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, at ease, X fair (word), (be in) favor, fine, glad, good (deed, -lier, liest, -ly, -ness, -s), graciously, joyful, kindly, kindness, liketh (best), loving, merry, X most, pleasant, + pleaseth, pleasure, precious, prosperity, ready, sweet, wealth, welfare, (be) well ([-favored]).
In scripture, the first time we read of anything being called
good
is in Genesis/B’resheet
verse 4 God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.
10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good
31 And God saw all the things that he had made, and they were very good. And the evening and morning were the sixth day.
What does good- tov mean?
In the first chapter of Genesis YHWH calls His handiwork good – tov. He is describing what He sees after completing various acts of creation.
The word tov in Day 3 of creation shows us what tov is.
As Hebrew often uses
descriptions of things as relating to their purpose;
so the word tov
could be translated with the word
functional.
When our Heavenly Father, the Creator, looked at His accomplishments, He did not simply see that it was good, He saw that it was functional, and would do what He had designed it to do; similar to a piece of machinery that is both finely tuned and well lubricated so it can operate for its’ intended function and purpose.
Another well known use of the word good
is in reference to one of the trees in the garden.
In contrast to the word for good/tob/tov is the Hebrew word ra. These two words, tov and ra are used for the tree of the knowledgeof good and evil.
While ra is often translated as evil
it may be better translated as dysfunctional.
In the first part of 1 Kings 3:9, in the account of the 2 mothers and the surviving baby; we see what tov looks like in action.
When Solomon says “Shall You then give to Your servant an understanding heart to rule Your people, to discern between good [tov] and evil?
The words frequently translated as
an understanding mind
are לֵב שֹׁמֵ
it is pronounced: lev shomea,
and literally translated
in Biblical Hebrew לֵב שֹׁמֵע
is
‘a hearing heart’.
The purpose for our Heavenly Father giving Solomon
a hearing heart
is so he can govern Gods’ people and have
the ability to discern between good /tov and evil/ra.
There is further use of the word good inGenesis 1:11–12
And Elohim said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the plant that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth.” And it came to be so. And the earth brought forth grass, the plant that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And Elohim saw that it was good [tov].”
These two verses, reveal a wonderful explanation of how things in His earth are to unfold by calling forth the seeds He has implanted; His creation does so with the seeds of future life/chaim within them, and He sees this process as tov.
The plants and trees must have seeds inside them because, at the perfect time, those same plants and trees will release their seeds into the earth; continuing the cycle of creating and producing life/chaim.
As part of our Heavenly Fathers creation, it is our turn to bring forth the seeds of His life/chaim, that are planted within us. These seeds are designed to intercede for, and to encourage and teach others, etc. We are to plant seeds of life/chaim into others lives…
It could be true to say that people who struggle to find meaning and fulfillment in life, are not bringing forth what has been planted inside of them; and which our Father intended for them to bring forth.
It is up to each individual to choose..
Do we have a hearing heart like Solomon, and will we choose to walk with God in obedience allowing Him to bring forth more seeds from His life/chaim that are already planted inside of us?
Could we then say that anything that produces life and contains the potential for more life within it, would be what our Heavenly Father calls good?
As previously noted the Hebrew word tov does not simply mean ‘pleasant’ or ‘pleasurable’. It means:
capable of,
presently engaged in the process of,
and destined for,
completely fulfilling the Divine purpose for which it was created.
The difference between how our modern society uses the word good and how our Father uses the word good seems to be extreme; as it’s not uncommon to hear good being used to describe a new fashion trend, movie or restaurant.
Scripture is considerably more selective when it comes to applying the word good – tov to something.
Two scriptures we are familiar with are:
John 10:11 and 10:27.
I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd gives His life for HIS sheep.
Messiah Jesus/Yeshua calls Himself a good shepherd.
There are a few words in Greek and about 4 words in Aramaic that are rendered as good.
Aramaic words are: hana = pleasurable, beautiful, fine, excellent.
and taqan = honest, blameless, high moral character.
These would be possibly be the best match for the Greek word kalos,
that is used in John 10 11.
“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd gives his life for his sheep.” Good: Greek: kalos
Kalos kagathos or kalokagathos
Ancient Greek : καλὸς κἀγαθός [kalòs kaːɡatʰós],
of which kalokagathia (καλοκαγαθία)
is the derived noun, is a phrase used by classical Greek writers to describe:
Definition: beautiful, good Usage: beautiful, as an outward sign of the inward good, noble
It is interesting to note that the Aramaic New Testament uses the word:
TAWA (perfect harmony) instead.
Jesus/Yeshua spoke these words in Aramaic and John heard them in Aramaic and perhaps translated them into Greek if he did not write them down in Aramaic first.
So why was the Greek word Kalos chosen?
Looking at all the Greek words that could be rendered as good, none really expressed the basic idea of tawa which is similar to the Hebrew word tov.
The Greek writer would have chosen the best possible Greek word for tawa and yet that still falls short of the full meaning.
Why?
Because the Aramaic word TAWA is: rooted in a relationship!
Aramaic: tawa’ – A relationship with someone or something that is perfectly harmonious and in sync.
In all the Greek words, there doesn’t seem to be any that would express that of a relationship, which is the idea of tawa’ being similar to the Hebrew word tov. All of them point to a persons’ character, courage or appearance.
Messiah called Himself the good shepherd, and surely the whole idea of Him describing Himself as a shepherd conveys the idea of a relationship, and in contrast, doesn’t speak of His appearance, moral character or courage.
So maybe in light of this, the word good is possibly not the best one to use?
A good shepherd can be defined by, understanding the ancient culture and what a shepherds’ responsibility was.
In Messiahs’ day there were two types of shepherds;
there were the hired shepherds
and the self-employed shepherds who owned their own sheep.
A shepherd was a highly respected occupation in the ancient Eastern culture; and for mothers to see their sons become shepherds was something they desired.
A man would be forced to hire a stranger to watch his sheep if he had no sons and this was not the best option because being a shepherd was a very dangerous job. A shepherd had to protect a flock of not so smart animals from attacks by wolves, robbers, bad weather and any number of other threats; yet, if a man’s personal livelihood, his wife, children and his future was threatened, he would take the risk. Recall Davids’ experiences protecting the sheep in his charge.
There were plenty of courageous, honorable hired shepherds, but they did not have a relationship with their sheep, their relationship was with the promised wages. As shepherding was much more of a common occupation, if a shepherd was dismissed from the job, he would simply move to another area of the country.
Messiah Jesus is not only our Good Shepherd, He is far far more. And we can say for certain that He is not the shepherd who is looking for the wages and Who would abandon His sheep the first time one wanders off, or has to face hungry predators. We should further remember that, He is also a role model for those in Pastoral and Christian leadership positions.
It is sad to say that these days, there are fewer pastors who would go into a drug house and pick up one of the young people from his church assembly and take him home. Not many pastors would get up in the middle of the night during a storm and drive to the home of someone who urgently needed prayer. Just how many pastors would take a cut in their wages during a recession, so congregation members would not be burdened? How many work and don’t use ‘the church’ as their financial source? It makes one wonder just how many pastors and church leaders are truly tawa’ shepherds (good shepherds) and not hired shepherds who will abandon the sheep at the first sign of trouble or leave them to go for the offer of a bigger church and higher wages?
“I am the good shepherd;
the good shepherd gives his life for his sheep.”
John 10:11:
Maybe we really need to define good?
A most important scripture that helps us define good is in
Luke 18:18-19 and Mark 10:18
where Jesus Himself said that only God is good.
None is good except One, God.
No one is good except God alone. Jesus answered,
“Why do you call me good? Only God is good [No one is good except One—God;”
Tov = good in Matthew 19:16,17 Why do you call me good there is none good but god?
Greek – kalos = beautiful, fine, excellent, blameless, high moral character.
Aramaic –TAWA= a relationship with someone or something, that is perfectly harmonious and in sync!
So in saying Only God is good could be read as:
Only God is in perfect harmony, relationship and frequency with ALL of His creation.
Why do you call Me good? ONLY God is TAWA
GOOD (SHEPHERD) – TAWA’ tet vav alef
alef vav tet
Next a closer look at the word Tov/tob
and the letters that make up the word for
good: tet vav bet
in
Strongs 2896 1186.
The letter
ט
T- tet
And in the pictographs.
ט – tet is a picture of:
a basket or tote, used to contain or
surround something food or belongings.
It means:
twist, basket, snake, surround, store, contain,
mud, clay, below, womb.
The letter sound of “T” and a word picture of a snake, serpent, surrounding something, coiling or a curving line;
a snake surrounds and is inside, no deception – it is the same outside and inside.
Tet – The ‘Seal’ or Mark of the ‘Master’.. His claim of ‘ownership’ and promise of completion.. to be restored to Him forever.. Jesus Messiah/Yeshua HaMashiach, (The Word; come in the flesh) He is The Seal, The Confirmation… We must be ‘IN’ Mashiach/In Christ – ‘access by compliance’ – Hazon/Revelation 22:14.
The pictograph for the letter
vet/bet ב is
It is the Hebrew word for house – bayit/beit/bet
and means:
house inside, household
or family also used as the words in and into.
It is a picture of a tent or house, or floor-plan of a tent.
The Hebrews lived in goat hair tents, which were divided into two halves, male and female sections, and divided by a wall.
Bet – House – The Container;
Body – Habitation of The Power of His Ruach/Spirit.
טב
The 2 letters combined can mean: surround the house.
The house is surrounded by: grace, beauty, love, health and prosperity, something that is functional.
The tent was supported by ropes attached to pegs driven into the ground. These pegs were made of a branched piece of hardwood. No English word is derived from this letter but the picture is similar to the hand of a man waving.
Sound: w, ow, uw
Picture of a peg: VAV
Ancient Name: Waw
The Instrument to bind or binding together –
One doing the work of:
weaving-knitting together (as in a womb- two become ‘one’)… fastening together…
think Jesus Messiah/HaMashiach Yeshua!
This could read – What surrounds and is inside.
This word good/tov is used many times and it apparently means exactly the same in Aramaic – tova, as it does in Hebrew.
We could conclude that Good is:
to be in harmony with something or someone.
When God created the fish of the sea, He saw it was good or in harmony with Him. He created man and woman and saw they were good together or together were in harmony with Him.
In scripture we are told that if a man finds a wife he finds a good thing. We should not think of any woman, especially a wife as a ‘thing’. Wouldn’t it be preferable to translate it as: a man who finds a wife finds someone who brings him into harmony with his Heavenly Father?
In the Semitic root of the Hebrew the word is tov has the idea of being in harmony or in tune. We could read it as:
our Heavenly Father created the birds of the air and saw that they werein tune with or in harmony with Him.
All of His creation is in harmony with Him.
The plethora of colors, intricate details and designs show the un-paralleled beauty of all He has made and in the complexity and infinite variety of His creative thoughts even in a tiny insect.
His love is evident in the nurturing care that His creations have for their young.
Sometimes Romans 8:28 is just something we quote, not because we really believe it, but because we don’t know what else to say in a situation and sometimes, it can be really be irritating in the sense that many times a situation does not work out for good or what we perceive as good!
Isn’t what Paul is saying really that, every event and every circumstance in our life is meant to bring us into harmony with our Heavenly Father?
Only God is good and we can be certain when we are in right relationship with Him, and we are in perfect harmony and synchronized with His will and plan and purpose for our lives; the God that is only good, will fulfill His promises according to His Word, surrounding the house/body we live in with all of His Goodness!
Shalom shalom mishpachah/family
and cheverim/friends!
It’s all about Life and Relationship,
NOT Religion.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
NOT SURE?
YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.
YOD – 10 = The outcome, the completion of something.
SHIN – 300 = Victory of good over evil, Holy Spirit. 
BET 2 = Divide or Division.
SAMEKH 60 = Pride, Conceit, Earthly.
TAV 400 = the Outcome of Trial and Testing. 
RESH 200 = Insufficiency, Poverty.
What is the will of God?
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